Kidnapping Lawyer in New Brunswick, NJ

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

Kidnapping under N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1 is a first-degree crime carrying its own ordinary range of 15 to 30 years in state prison, longer than the usual first-degree range. If the person was released unharmed and in a safe place before the arrest, the grade drops to second degree, 5 to 10 years, and every version is covered by the No Early Release Act.

Because it is indictable, a kidnapping complaint from Edison, Woodbridge, Old Bridge or anywhere else in the county is screened by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) at 25 Kirkpatrick Street and heard in the Superior Court at 56 Paterson Street, New Brunswick. Our firm, William Proetta Criminal Law, works out of Edison. Across more than 15 years in trial courtrooms, I have learned to start every kidnapping file with one test: do the facts fit the statute at all?

What the State Has to Prove

The statute is broader than the word suggests, and it has two routes.

Route one: ransom, reward, shield or hostage. Under subsection (a), the State must show the person was unlawfully moved from where they were found, or unlawfully confined, with the purpose of holding them for ransom or reward, or as a shield or hostage.

Route two: any of four other purposes. Under subsection (b), the State must show one of two acts:

• removing the person from their home or business, or “a substantial distance from the vicinity where he is found”; or
• confining the person “for a substantial period.”

That act must be done with the purpose to (1) commit a crime or escape after one, (2) inflict bodily injury on or terrorize the person or someone else, (3) interfere with a governmental or political function, or (4) permanently take a child away from a parent, guardian or other lawful custodian.

“Unlawful.” Subsection (d) defines the removal or confinement as unlawful when it is done by force, threat or deception. For a child under 14, or a person who is incompetent, it is unlawful if done without the consent of a parent, guardian or other person responsible for their welfare. So a child’s willingness to go along is not consent.

Distance and Time Are Not Measured With a Ruler or a Clock

These two phrases decide more kidnapping cases than anything else. In State v. Masino, 94 N.J. 436 (1983), the Supreme Court refused to measure “substantial distance” in feet or miles. The movement must be more than merely incidental to the other crime and must create an added risk of harm from isolating the person, a risk that “must not be trivial.” In State v. La France, 117 N.J. 583 (1990), roughly 30 minutes of binding and gagging during a burglary could qualify as a “substantial period.” The Court looked at four things: how long the confinement lasted, whether it happened during a separate offense, whether it was inherent in that offense, and whether it created a significant danger of its own.

The model jury charge adds that the period is not measured “in seconds, minutes or hours.” Holding a store clerk in a back room for the few minutes a robbery takes may be incidental to that robbery rather than a separate kidnapping.

Grades and Sentencing Exposure

Safe release is the State’s burden. The model jury charge requires the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly harmed the person, or knowingly did not release the person in a safe place before being caught. If the jury has a reasonable doubt on that point, the verdict is second degree. Safety is judged on the totality of the circumstances.

Extended terms. On the prosecutor’s application, a qualifying defendant can face 30 years to life for first-degree kidnapping, and 30 years to life with 30 years of parole ineligibility under (c)(2). Under (c)(2), any sentence for homicide of the same victim runs consecutively.

Consequences Beyond the Prison Term

• NERA. Kidnapping is on the N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2 list, and every grade is first or second degree, so the 85 percent parole bar applies to any conviction. Our No Early Release Act guide shows the arithmetic.
• Presumption of imprisonment. First- and second-degree convictions carry it under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(d)(1). Since the old presumptive terms were deleted in January 2026, the restored downgrade in 2C:44-1(d)(2) lets a judge who is clearly convinced the mitigating factors substantially outweigh the aggravating ones sentence one degree lower. The State gets 10 days to appeal, and a downgraded sentence should not be assumed to end the 85 percent rule.
• Megan’s Law. Registration is required for any (c)(2) conviction, and for any kidnapping where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the child’s parent. Our Middlesex sex crimes page explains how registration works locally.
• Graves Act. Kidnapping is listed in N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c): with a firearm, the parole bar is at least half the sentence or 42 months, though NERA usually controls. A conviction also makes later gun possession a second-degree crime (2C:39-7(b)(1)).
• No expungement. Kidnapping is on the permanent bar list in N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2(b).
• Domestic violence. Kidnapping is a predicate act under N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19(a), so a partner, spouse, household member or co-parent can seek a restraining order on the same facts.
• Immigration. A first- or second-degree violent offense raises serious removal concerns. The precise category depends on the record, so a non-citizen should have an immigration lawyer review any proposed plea before it is entered.

How a Kidnapping Case Moves Through Middlesex County

Arrest and detention. A kidnapping arrest in Edison, Woodbridge or New Brunswick usually means a stay at the county’s adult correction center in North Brunswick (Apple Orchard Lane) until a judge decides release. Kidnapping is a NERA-listed crime, which makes it eligible for a prosecutor’s detention motion under N.J.S.A. 2A:162-19(a), and the (c)(2) form, which carries a possible life term, triggers the rebuttable presumption of detention in 2A:162-19(b); ordinary kidnapping can too when the defendant is eligible for a 30-to-life extended term. The detention hearing comes within days. Our page on pretrial release and detention walks through that hearing.

Three common fact patterns. Kidnapping files tend to fall into recognizable groups. Some grow out of a relationship: an argument in an apartment complex, a car ride that will not stop, a phone taken away. Those cases come with a temporary restraining order, a weapons seizure and a parallel Family Part case at the Family Courthouse, 120 New Street; see our Middlesex domestic violence defense page. Others involve a parent who keeps a child past a visit or leaves the state during a custody dispute, where subsections (e) and (f) supply defenses, discussed below. The rest are robbery or burglary cases in which the State adds kidnapping because someone was moved or held.

Grand jury and trial. The MCPO presents the case to a grand jury in New Brunswick. We often ask whether the evidence supports kidnapping at all, or only criminal restraint, a third-degree crime, or false imprisonment, a disorderly persons offense. That gap, from a 15-to-30-year range to a possible non-custodial outcome, shapes every plea discussion. If the case goes forward, it is tried in the Criminal Division; our Superior Court page describes that courthouse and its schedule.

Is Diversion Possible?

Realistically, no. A first- or second-degree charge carries both a presumption of imprisonment and NERA’s mandatory parole bar, so the Rules require prosecutor consent before Pretrial Intervention is even considered, and admission on a first- or second-degree charge requires a guilty plea. When diversion becomes possible, it is usually because the charge has been reduced to criminal restraint or false imprisonment.

How We Defend Kidnapping Charges

• Incidental movement or confinement. Under Masino and La France, moving someone a short way or holding them briefly as part of another crime is not a separate kidnapping. This argument is strongest when the alleged robbery or assault already accounts for the restraint.
• No unlawful means. If the person went along willingly, with no force, threat or deception, the removal is not unlawful. Texts, ride-share records and video along Route 1 or Route 9 can show how two people actually left together.
• The required purpose is missing. Subsection (b) requires one of four specific purposes. A heated argument in a moving car is not, by itself, proof of a purpose to terrorize.
• Safe release. Even where a conviction is likely, evidence that the person was let go unharmed in a safe place before any arrest reduces the grade to second degree.
• Custody defenses. For a parent charged under (b)(4), the statute recognizes defenses proved by clear and convincing evidence: acting to protect the child from imminent danger and notifying police, the prosecutor or the Division of Child Protection and Permanency within 24 hours; a reasonable belief that the other parent or a state agency consented; a child of at least 14 who left voluntarily with a parent for no criminal purpose; and a custodial parent fleeing imminent physical danger who promptly notified authorities or filed for custody.
• Statements and searches. Phone location data, car searches and statements given at headquarters can each be challenged through a motion to suppress.
• Credibility. Kidnapping allegations that arise from breakups or custody fights often change between the 911 call, the police report and the restraining order application.

Talk to a Middlesex County Kidnapping Defense Lawyer

Do not discuss the events with detectives, the complaining witness or anyone on a jail phone. Phone (732) 659-9600 any hour for a confidential, no-cost look at the charge, or reach us online. Related charges are indexed on our Middlesex assault and threats overview.